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 The Mormon Battalion at McPherson, Kansas - McPherson County, KS Posted by:  The Snowdog
N 38° 29.158 W 097° 37.249
14S E 620287 N 4260637
This historical marker is on the southbound side of the Sedgwick Rest Stop on I-135, between Lindborg and McPherson, in McPherson County, Kansas.
Waymark Code: WM147YE
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 05/10/2021
Views: 1
This historical marker is on the southbound side of the Sedgwick Rest Stop on I-135, between Lindborg and McPherson. You'll find it on the north side of the sidewalk that leads up to the restrooms.
Marker Name: The Mormon Battalion at McPherson, Kansas
Marker Type: Rest Area
Marker text:
On 3 September 1846, the Mormon Battalion camped near here on its way to fight in the war with Mexico. This small army of more than 500 men and officers had been recruited at Council Bluffs, Iowa, from among the Mormon pioneers (members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) who were in route to the Rocky Mountains. About one-tenth of the battalion suffered from "ague, billious, and congestive fever" during the march from Council Bluffs, but only the standard army medicines of "calomel, arsenic, and bitters of bayberry bark" were on hand to treat them with.
Here battalion members saw for the first time the prickly pear cactus and other semi-arid plants typical of the American Southwest. Their difficult 1700-mile journey through the dry and barren landscape between this campsite and the final destination at San Diego, California, evoked poems, songs, and art work, some of which have been preserved in diaries kept by the battalion members.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sints and the Kansas State Historical Society. Placed 1982.
Marker Location: McPherson
Year Marker Placed: 01/01/1982
Name of agency setting marker: Kansas State Historical Society
Official Marker Number: Not listed
Marker Web Address: Not listed
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